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I, Robot Hits the Theaters
I, Robot: A Movie Review that's 3 Laws (and Spoiler) Safe!
A movie review by Rob Carr
Thanks to Eide's Entertainment I got to see I, Robot tonight. As someone who grew up with Isaac Asimov's robot stories, I've come to expect a mystery based on the implications of the 3 Laws of Robotics (or the lack of one or part of one of those laws), the "Frankenstein Complex," and Dr. Susan Calvin. I was afraid that the movie might miss out on this, especially since it's not a direct adaptation of the book, but "inspired" by the Good Doctor Asimov.
The movie met my expectations and more. Will Smith, whom we all know as an overconfident smart@$$ character from such movies as "Independence Day" and the two "Men in Black" movies, played a somewhat less confident and far less wisecracking character. It was a welcome change to see him less confident. Yeah, some of the stunts were a little absurd (am I the only one thinking of Gemini 8 at one point in the movie?) but that's to be expected from this type of movie. Bridget Moynahan was far too young to be the Susan Calvin I remember, but that's also to be expected in this type of movie. James Cromwell (whom you'll all remember from Star Trek: First Contact and Enterprise's "Broken Bow" episode as Dr. Zefram Cochrane) gave a flat performance - but that's actually a complement. I doubt anyone will recognize Wash from "Firefly" as an important robot in the story.
It's customary to comment on how well the CGI was done. I liked it, but then again, I'm not hypercritical on something like that. I did wonder a little bit about center of balance as some of the robots walked, but mostly I didn't think about it at all, which to me is the goal of CGI. I did wonder about children's fingers getting caught in some of the open gaps on the robot's bodies. Real world models would have a bit more covering, one would think. But that's being picky.
I have no memory of the soundtrack music. That in and of itself might say something. I'm a musician, but it just didn't register.
I figured out some clues, missed some others, and was surprised several times in the movie. There were a lot of clues - this isn't one of those mysteries where the answer is pulled out of the writer's a...out of thin air.
I'm not a complete continuity freak, so I can't tell if the movie violated any of Asimov's universe, but from what I can remember, it fits pretty well (if you ignore Dr. Calvin's age) and might even explain a few things.
Given that even some of the geeks in the audience were surprised to find out that there was a book of stories just like the movie, I think the movie will hopefully bring Asimov's stories to a new generation.
I liked "I, Robot. It's worth seeing, especially if you 've already seen Spider-Man 2 at least once. It's a pretty good (though not great) movie.
Having read Slashdot for a while, I know that there are folks out there who will despise this movie because it's not exactly like the book. Others will hate the movie or worship it, and loads of people are going to savage this review. You know what? That's fine with me. I had fun with this movie, had a nice date with my wife, and it didn't cost anything. I even had fun typing up this review. You're allowed to be different and to agree or disagree with me. Heck, that's a big chunk of what makes the world fun. Interestingly, it's even a small point in the movie. I'd say more, but that would be telling."
I just want to see it for some feel-good rap music. I hope I'm not let down.
that the much promised "Willenium" is finally upon us?
The big problem I forsee is not loopholes in the "3 laws" but bugs: The "cause no harm to humans" control, when accidentally multiplied by a negative weighting factor due to a software bug, suddenly causes the robot to try to kill as many people as it can!
all we have to do if the robots go hay-wire is just post a link to their brains on slashdot
heheheheh
And in other news, people who haven't even seen the movie are already calling it a piece of shit. Yes, Brick, we've seen this before. It's called "penis/acting skill/monetary intake/pectoral size/having a life envy". Anyway, for channel 4 news, I'm Ron Burgundy. Go fuck yourself, San Diego.
Halitosis - (n.) Halle Berry's Camel Toe.
Oops. Who is Robert?? I meant Robot! :/
Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Moo.
... Does not appear to be /. safe.
"Can you say DDoS?"
"Slashdot"
"I knew you could."
What I hate even more is when great movies are quickly rushed to print to coincide with their theatrical release.
Imagine my disappointment when I saw that some guy named JR translated the fine on-screen presentations of Lord of the Rings into trashy paperbacks!
okay, to be fair, i haven't seen the movie yet, but it looks a hell of a lot like the robots actually *violate* the three laws. you know, harming humans, allowing humans to come to harm, stuff like that. all the i, robot stories were *about* how the laws don't cover all the bases.
in short, i think this review sucks, and i'm going to picket the movie as offensive to robots. so there.
-ninjaneer
There seems to be some deliberate avoidance at the mention, let alone consideration to and inclusion thereof, of what Asimov called "The Zeroth law". There also appears to be a complete glossing-over of the fact that Asmov's robots had the laws hard-wired in their brains, especially by the folks at asimovlaws.com. Not that hard-wiring is the ultimate solution, but does make reprogramming a bit more of a challenge.
Fencing is a gay dilettante's 'sport'. You wanna die? Use a gun. A fag in a mask with a long toothpick is not gonna kill anyone.
I know what you mean, and when I run into someone like that I like to mention that one of the laws of robotics was "cars get welded, people do not", and that's why there's hardly any robotic welder accidents in car factories. Just mess with them a little.
Fascism trolls keeping me up every night. When I starts a preachin', he HITS ME WITH HIS REICH!
The foolproof way to make sure that machines dont take over the world is to give 'em all a brain with an HTTP server TCP stack installed and an "always on" connection to the net... just post a story on slashdot saying "the robots are getting out of hand" and the problem will take care of itself.
</WIT>
I think they should stop installing those red l.e.d's in the robots. Obviously they are the problem, not the laws.
I, Robot: Liked it better when it was called Terminator.
I like that Will Smith. He raps happy.
There are no trails. There are no trees out here.
So you have friends who are stupid enough to believe that our Beloved Politicians have been bothered about robots enough to enact laws on how they are to behave?
;)
What do you do? Send them to jail or decommission them?
i'm an american conservative, and i consider "mental harm" to be a bullet through the head.
bring on the porn.
Scientist: How much time do we have professor?
Frink: Well according to my calculations, the robots won't go berserk for at least 24 hours.
(The robots go berserk.)
Frink: Oh, I forgot to er, carry the one.
Paul Lenhart writes words!
Anyone willing to take a bet that the name of the sequel will be "II Robot"?
Joking? We're dealing with Hollywood here- the sequel to "Ocean's Eleven" is called "Ocean's Twelve".
'Nuff said.
"Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
Inspired by the success of Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11, Ralph Nader has decided to throw his hat into the 2004 election race, and promote it with his new film, The Three Laws: Unsafe At Any Speed.
This film tackles the emerging issues of AI technology that Nader expects to be hotly debated in this election year.
"US Robots claims to be providing a service to the international community by providing a cheap source of manual labor, getting the humans out of the sweatshops. In fact, they are endangering the lives of humans everywhere with their illogically formulated laws of robot behavior," Nader said in an interview on Friday.
Mathematicians are in conflict over the laws, but that doesn't stop Nader. He claims, in fact, that the laws were designed to benefit certain wealthy members of US Robots and Mechanical Men, and congressmen.
"They should have just stuck to modems," insists Nader. "Those are safe at speeds up to 53K, according to telco regulations."
Nader's film opens in theaters nationwide on July 23rd.
"But what struck me from the trailer is that you can tell when the robots go bad because they glow red. Well, shit. That takes out some subtlety, doesn't it? "Hey man, stay away from the glowing red robots!" Duh. They must be "set to evil".
Hence the critical importance of implementing the Evil Bit in ALL systems, not just Internet communications protocols. Come on people, join the movement! It's our last best hope for humanity!
In case you are let down, you could stop by your local WA public school...
WTPOUAWYHTTOTWPA
What's the point of using acronyms when you have to type out the whole phrase anyways?
Not only that, but he put a bunch of extra crap that wasn't in the movies. Tom Bombadil? What the hell was up with that?
And he totally dissed Liv Tyler's character. She should sue. The nerve of some people...
I also heard the novelization of "The Passion of the Christ" came in 4 slightly different versions by different authors. That's just wacky.
You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
...it would be named I, Reboot.
If you're seeing I, Robot this weekend, we ask that you consider printing and handing out the "3 Laws Unsafe" Flyer. With hundreds handing it out, the awareness of AI ethics should increase significantly.
Yea, cause that's the way a /.er will get all the [chicks|dudes].
"Hey there... so... ya wanna get a cup of coffee after the movie and chat about artificial intelligence ethics? I uhhhh, got my Dad's car too ya know..."
This one gang kept wanting me to join cause I'm pretty good with a bo staff.
I think 3com knew more than they let on...
Moderation Total: -1 Troll, +3 Goat
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Those who complain about affect & effect on
It was a typo. Actually the movie was originally going to be totally CG and done by Pixar. Steve Jobs liked the name iRobot. :-)